November 2019

 

Venture Fest ‘19 on October 17 was the largest ever gathering of the HV entrepreneur ecosystem with over 280 attending.

Based on feedback during and after the event, we achieved our three stated objectives below:

  • Bring the entire HV entrepreneur ecosystem together to connect and collaborate
  • Increase energy and excitement about the HV entrepreneur ecosystem
  • Establish Venture Fest as a signature annual event for the ecosystem

One comment from our anonymous attendee feedback, “I think it was an amazing event - especially for a first-time event. There was tremendous "buzz" and great energy.”

See one minute highlight video (thanks to Dan Sagarin, Mohican Studios). Some additional highlights of Venture Fest are included below. 

Looking forward to Venture Fest ‘20 next October! Save the date -- Wednesday, October 7 Noon - 6:30PM.

 

Entrepreneurs

Pitch Fest

Venture Fest featured a Pitch Fest Competition among eight HV pre-seed startups. Congratulations to the winners pictured below: 

From left to right:

  • Kris Backhaus, Dean of the School of Business, SUNY New Paltz 
  • 3rd place winner ($500): Stephanie Erwin and Eliza Edge, Co-founders, Cahoots (renting seasonal wardrobes for children) 
  • 2nd place winner ($1000): Don Kerr, founder of BioSand Bag Filter (portable water treatment device)
  • Reva McPollom, founder of Lessonbee (an awesome health education experience), who took home the 1st place award of $2000. Reva will also be pitching to the HV Startup Fund on November 14. 
  • Tony DiMarco, Entrepreneur in Residence, HV Venture Hub, SUNY New Paltz School of Business

All the other founders did a great job as well. 

  • SportsHi (home of High School Sports), Founder: Alexander Miles
  • Izana (empowering women with innovative clothing), Founder: Isabel Castillo 
  • United Aircraft Technologies (the future of wire maintenance using sensing technology), Founders: Evaguel Rhysing, Daryian Rhysing
  • FabForeDev (mobile experiences for discerning players), Founder: Marty Rottman
  • Velotooler (bicycle mechanic service to your doorstep), Founder: Terence Fin

Pitch Fest featured a fun and valuable new app called Pre-Investor that allowed our 30+ investors/judges and the broader audience to rate the pitches by each allocating $10,000 across the top startups.

Entrepreneur Panel: Crossing the Chasm to High Growth

                  

 

The Entrepreneur Panel consisted of (pictured above, listed below left to right)

The panel was moderated by Johnny LeHane, Founding Managing Member, HV Startup Fund.

The founders discussed the topics below. 

  • Their experiences moving through funding rounds (e.g., pre-seed to seed to late seed to Series A) 
  • The role of their investors as advisors, board members, and strategic partners
  • The importance of managing expectations with investors, especially in not over promising on valuation or financials since you are accountable to investors and the board, you have to live with that story. Be optimistic but realistic. Valuation is a test of integrity, must be a rational process, building trust process.
  • As they moved through market entry and initial growth toward higher growth (to scale the business), they faced several different types of growth challenges. 
    • Product – Market Fit challenges. It often takes time to get this right. 
    • Building a team for scaling – building bench strength, before it becomes a bottleneck to growth
    • Creating the right culture for company growth
    • Customer acquisition and revenue growth 
    • Business operations

They expressed many of their feelings while in the chasm and crossing the chasm, and these ranged from dread and stress, to relief and excitement. 

Food & Beverage Startup Showcase

Five HV food and beverage startups were highlighted in the Food & Beverage Startup Showcase.

  • Screamin' Onionz - an amazingly versatile condiment that's Kinda Like Onionz In Hot Sauce (Richard Romano)
  • HV Harvest / Field Goods - helping to bring our customers the best food from the Hudson Valley (Michael Waterman / Kim McLean)
  • Raw Amour - the only certified organic, certified low glycemic chocolate in the marketplace (Marc Rosenbaum)
  • Toma Bloody Mary Mixers - elevate your brunch with Toma, award-winning Bloody Mary mix (Alejandro Lopez)
  • Stoutridge Vineyard - a premium estate winery and distillery situated in Marlboro NY, a mere 70 miles from the heart of Manhattan (Steve Osborn, Kim Wagner)

 

 

Investors

A popular breakout session at Venture Fest was The Angel Investing Experience Panel that featured six angel investors, across five different angel groups in the HV and upstate NY. The panel described what is like to be an angel investor and also helped entrepreneurs in the room to better understand the investor perspective as founders approach different investors for funding.

The panel was moderated by Johnny LeHane, Founding Managing Member, HV Startup Fund 

Pictured above, left to right, are panelists:

Additional panelists included:

Each of the investors on the panel provided their unique angel investing perspectives. Kate described how they are supporting women investors, March highlighted what is what like to gain the support of the Community Foundation of the HV to become an investor in the HV Startup Fund. Lindsay described the model for LaunchNY including funding for a large number of pre-seed startups. 

The panelist highlighted some of the many benefits they have experienced throughout their angel investing experience, including: 

  • Staying on top of innovation
  • Potentially attractive ROI
  • Networking
  • Building investor skills and insights
  • Economic development – helping your region
  • Value of different perspectives
  • Developing personal / professional skills

 

 

Leaders

The Hudson Valley Current, a sponsor of this year's Venture Fest, strives to shift the narrative around our relationship with currency while providing the Hudson Valley community with a unified tool of exchange. Our three primary projects are the Current (the mid-Hudson Valley's community currency); Livelihood (a monthly publication that focuses on keeping money local and sharing abundance); and Satisfy Hunger (an initiative that utilizes our local currency to feed our neighbors in need).

One Current is worth one dollar. The Current had its first digital exchange in July 2013. Over six years later, almost a million Currents have been exchanged in Ulster and Dutchess counties between almost 400 members. This flow of community currency has a perpetual multiplier effect—the money never leaves our region. A recent study that we conducted, called a Network Analysis of the Hudson Valley Current, describes and illustrates the benefits of using a community currency to keep money local.

Livelihood started hitting newsstands in 2010 as Country Wisdom News. When the publication was donated to the Hudson Valley Current in 2015, the name was changed to Livelihood to reflect the vision and goals of the nonprofit organization. The newspaper is distributed throughout Ulster and Dutchess counties and has a readership of over 20,000 people every month. 

The Satisfy Hunger campaign has had six large community dinners that provided sponsored meals to anyone who attended. We recently acquired a food truck and started a catering company in order to serve more people. The Hudson Valley Current donates 10% of surplus revenue to five nonprofits that feed people every day.

Contact us at: Hudson Valley Current Office: 845-663-2286 | hello@hudsonvalleycurrent.org

 

 

Service Providers

Question: What do start-up founders need more than anything? Answer: Another me. We are another ‘me’. As an early-stage founder, what don’t you have time to do? We can help you focus on your long-term strategic priorities and fill gaps in your overall operations. Unlike other consultancies or accelerators, The Field Group provides custom-tailored guidance based on your company’s specific needs and overall vision. 

 We help you develop your path forward with thorough, in-depth consultations, along with regular, quick check-ins. With our collaborative process, we get to know your business and understand your objectives. Having The Field Group as your partner provides a unique roadmap to guide you on your journey to success. We are your visionary partner, collaborator, advisor, and practical problem-solver, assisting with strategic development and tactical planning. 

 Our services include: 

  • Consulting and Advising
  • Business Administration
  • Project Management
  • Due Diligence
  • Strategic Partnership Introductions
  • Investor Introductions 

 

The Field Group’s CEO and Partner, Jeff Werner’s client portfolio includes a select group of Hudson Valley start-ups. Additionally, he serves on company Advisory and Director Boards of companies such as Our.News and Orto Foods, Inc. He was a founding partner of Cheerity, a social media-based technology company in New York, and today is an advisor and valued member of their Board of Directors. He is a Founding Managing Member of the Hudson Valley Startup Fund, a member-managed seed capital fund, and is a Hudson Valley Venture Hub Leader.  

 For more information, contact: (845) 202-7522  

http://fieldgroupny.com

 

 

Before Silicon Valley, The HV

By Donald J. Delaney

The Smiley Brothers, Social Entrepreneurs - 3 Aha's

The Smiley Family and the Smiley Brothers lived their Quaker belief in spirit-led action. Three 'aha' moments set the direction of their life work and creation of a five-generation legacy. The brothers’ application of entrepreneurship to a socially good purpose continues in environmental hospitality and education.The first of three aha moments appeared early in the lives of Albert and Alfred Smiley.


 

The first of three aha moments appeared when they were fourteen years old, a calling to teach and educate. Albert and Alfred Smiley's early classroom was nature. Vassalboro, a small village in Northwest Maine, was a green, forest-rich environment in 1828. Their family farm, nature, and their family's Quaker beliefs were a seamless fit. 

Albert and Alfred delighted in being identical twins. They started early with playful pranks on their parents, confusing the Bean Sisters on double dates, and drilling each other on Greek and Latin while they did their farm chores. Interestingly, their father was also a twin, and this bond was a source of identity, strength, and creativity.

Much like Matthew Vassar, a fellow of Poughkeepsie, the Smiley brothers were avid life-long learners, who educated themselves on the field of education. Admission to Haverford College, a Quaker institution created a foundation to transition from students to teachers. Albert became a full professor at 24.

In 1853 the second aha emerged – entrepreneurship. They launched what would now be called a startup. They opened the doors as the English and Classical Academy of Philadelphia. Their second educational entrepreneurial success led to being recruited to 'scale up' the 40-student Friends School in Providence, RI (1863 – 1869). Under their dual principalships enrollment grew to 200 students, a five-fold increase, and continued growing to this day, renamed the Moses Brown School.

Meantime inside the Smiley families, life was bittersweet. Albert and Eliza lost their only child, Nettie Smiley, while Alfred's family was expanding to six children. A return to farm life served Alfred’s goal of more space and Albert's desire to give his unwell wife a pastoral environment. Alfred purchased the 115-acre Donaldson Dairy farm in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., soon to be joined by Albert's family. 

The Hudson Valley and lower Catskills provided an ideal environment to combine nurturing their Quaker faith and frequent family day trips. Their third aha moment appeared on a life-changing hike up to Lake Mohonk. The vision of a bright new future appeared on Mohonk Mountain, 7.9 miles and a climb of 1,006 feet up from SUNY New Paltz.

Part II of 3 aha’s coming in December

This Before the Silicon Valley, the Hudson Valley blog offers a 400-year narrative journey honoring the Icons of entrepreneurship and their impact on invention, innovation, and commercialization in the Hudson Valley.

Contact welcome: Donald J. Delaney, HV Entrepreneurship Historian & Blog Writer for the HV Venture Hub. You can reach Don at don@dondelaney.com

© Donald J. Delaney 2019

Events

November 6 (Kingston): HV Women in Business Fall Weekday Retreat, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at The Forsyth B&B

November 6 (White Plains): Finding Your Angels, discussion with Jason Klein, CEO, On Grid Ventures and Chairman, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York Presented by Amplify Westchester 

November 11 (Rhinebeck): HV Women in Business Meeting on Marketing and Creating a Magnetic Brand, 6:00 pm at CO.

November 12 (New Windsor): Bring Your Products to the World, 9:00 am – 11:00 am at The Acceleratore.

November 21 (Beacon): Selling Equity : How to Sell Part (or All) of Your Business, 4:00pm - 8:00pm, hosted by Upstate Capital, at Clarkson University’s Beacon Institute for Rivers & Estuaries

November 22 (Valhalla): Grow Your Business Conference at the Westchester Community College, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

December 9 (Poughkeepsie): Build Your Championship Quality Team, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm at Think Dutchess

December 16 (Beacon): Get MWBE Certified Now!, 6:30pm – 8:00pm at BEAHIVE Beacon

Comments? Email Tony DiMarco at dimarcoa@newpaltz.edu